REGULAR SEASON
| U.P.E.I. | 15-4 | 26-9 | Tracy Ellsworth | |||||
| Memorial | 14-5 | 20-7 | Doug Partridge | |||||
| St. Mary’s | 14-6 | 21-10 | Jill Jeffrey | |||||
| New Brunswick | 11-9 | 15-12 | Joyce Slipp | |||||
| St. FX | 10-10 | 11-13 | Doc Ryan | |||||
| Dalhousie | 9-11 | 18-15 | Carolyn Savoy | |||||
| Acadia | 3-17 | 4-27 | Laura Sanders | |||||
| Cape Breton | 3-17 | 3-20 | ||||||
In the quarterfinals, held in Charlottetown, the 2nd-seeded Memorial Sea-Hawks defeated the 7th-seeded Acadia Axettes 74-55 as Jenifer Devereaux scored 20 and grabbed 11 boards. Ann Murrin added 14 on 6-9 from the floor and 14 boards, while Lisa MacInnis and Erica Coultas each scored 10. The Sea-Hawks took a 39-30 lead at the half and coasted, out-rebounding Acadia 47-23 and shooting .500 from the floor. Lindsay LaMorre led Acadia with 12 points. Natalie Nakic also notched 12. The Sea-Hawks outscored Acadia 24-10 over the last 9:16. Memorial, a first round victim of the Axettes a year ago, watched a nine-point halftime lead evaporate to just two with 10:28 to play before putting Acadia away down the stretch. “We came out a little flat,” said Trepassey native Jenifer Devereaux. “We weren’t nervous, more excited than anything.” Karen Cameron converted five of six free throws in the final two minutes and capped a 37-minute performance with seven points. Memorial led 39-30 at the break but a Natalie Nakic layup with 10:44 to play put Acadia within two at 47-45. Devereaux said there was no concern on the MUN bench. “Not really. That happens a lot throughout our league play,” said Devereaux. “We really got pumped up and pushed it from there.” The Axettes (coached by Laura Sanders) also include Candace Jeffrey, Cavell Burley, Robyn DeYoung, Heather MacIntyre, Pam Dewling, Emily McMillan, Dawn Kingston and Beth Crocker.
The 6th-seeded Dalhousie Tigers nipped the 3rd-seed St. Mary’s Huskies 63-61 on a buzzer-beating layup by freshman Janet Wells. Sara Henneberry and Angelia Crealock each scored 14 to pace the Tigers, who led 29-28 at the half. Tigers coach Carolyn Savoy said her team got off to a good start and then dug in their heels. “Our players played with a lot of heart. Jillian (MacDonald) started the game by taking the ball hard to the hoop and scoring and that got the girls up. The bench came through and Alana (Coffin) sparked us with a three-point bank shot. It went down to the wire.” The Tigers led 63-61 with a minute to play. Lisa Ward knotted the score for the Huskies, setting the stage for Wells’ winner. “We got the ball with 14 seconds left and Sara drove the lane but she missed the layup. Janet got the offensive rebound and put it in with one second on the clock,” Savoy said. “The kids just worked hard. They were energized because we had nothing to lose. In that situation, all the pressure is on the higher seed to win. Especially because Saint Mary’s beat us in four of the five games we played them this year.” Jan Crnogorac paced St. Mary’s with 28 points, 8 boards and 2 steals. Lisa Ward added 13, all in the second half. Melanie Johnson notched 10. Wells said the final shot was instinctive. “I didn’t really think. I just thought `shoot that ball and make it go in’.” Alana Coffin scored six key points in the final five minutes as the Tigers recovered from a 52-47 deficit with 6:30 to go. “They beat us four times this year and they had a little advantage but we wanted it more,” said Coffin. The Morell Regional high school graduate was to finish with eight points on the night. Dal led 61-57 with just over a minute remaining but Lisa Ward of SMU hit back-to-back baskets in the final 65 seconds, including one with 24 seconds left to tie it before Wells won it at the buzzer. The Huskies (coached by Jill Jeffrey) also included Marianne Berry, Stephanie English, Coleen MacNeil, Kristi-Jo Robinson, Tricia Waugh, Jennifer Reid, Felicia Arbuah, Kate Little, Jamie Quinn, Mandi Neely, Lisa Ward and Kari Scott.
The top-seeded UPEI Panthers crushed the 8th-seeded Cape Breton 75-49. Panther guard Jennifer Johnston said team defence proved the difference. “Definitely, our defence gets overlooked,” said Johnston, who scored 16 and pilfered 5 of UPEI’s 26 steals. “Our defence gets our offence for us. People see all our offensive points but they really come from the defence to begin with.” The Panthers limited Cape Breton to just two free throws in the final 8:37 of the first period, using an 18-2 run over that span to build a 46-23 lead at the half. UPEI then allowed the Capers just three field goals in the final 9:20 of the second half. “What we were looking to do was to improve on a few things,” said fifth-year Panther senior Eireann Rigby, who had a game-high 20 points, despite re-injuring her shoulder early in the first period. “We really wanted to improve as a team on the floor rather than just go out and look for a win.” Krista Connolly and Marie-Claude Couture each added 10 points for UPEI while Kristen Morrison had 13 and Heidi MacNeil 11 for the Capers, who out-rebounded the Panthers 43-37. Despite falling behind 6-0, the Panthers used a 17-0 run to take control. Cape Breton head coach Ron Carew admitted his club just couldn’t control the basketball, a problem which plagued the club a record 552 times this season. “We didn’t do very well in the first half and didn’t do a very good job in the second half,” said Carew of his club’s 42 turnovers. “All year long we didn’t have two or three people able to get the ball over half court and run our offence. If we get a chance to run over offence, we’re doing OK. “P.E.I. is like a buzzsaw. Give them credit, their deserved it.” The Capers (coached by Rod Carew) also included Deanna MacAuley, Jessica Bradley, Tanya Berger, Jody Peters, Shauna Poirier, Tara Travis, Janel Hollohan, Nicole Durdle, Tracey Black, Lindsay MacLeod, Gerlayn Moore and Jenny Timmons.
In the last quarterfinal, the 4th-seeded New Brunswick Red Bloomers edged the 5th-seeded St. Francis Xavier X-Women 73-67 as Bonny Munn scored 24 and Jill LeBlanc 20, including 17 in the second half. Catherine Jamieson paced the X-Women with 22. Donna Sanderson added 14 and Sarah Williams 11. St. FX shot 13-24 from the line. Reds point guard Gillian Leblanc ignited a decisive 20-2 run in the second half. “I think we went out there with more heart in the second half,” said LeBlanc, a five-foot-three guard who averaged 9.6 points during the regular season. “Our defence really picked up. We started making some better choices on defence and better choices on offence.” Down 36-28 to the half, UNB stormed out after the intermission, taking the lead on a pair of Heather Grasman baskets three minutes in. The Reds did not allow an X field goal until Donna Sanderson of St. Peters scored from inside 7:23 in. UNB captain Bonny Munn had a game-high 24 points while one-time Panther Charlene Woolaver added 10 points, 15 rebounds and five blocked shots. The Varsity Reds out-rebounded the X- Women 49-35. The X-Women (coached by Doc Ryan) also included Nikki Doucet, Rita Rieksts, Lindsay Clarke, Katie McDonaugh, Kim Reardon, Jacqueline Johnston, Alyson Wister, Kristin Moore, Angela Large, Angela Harris, Meghan MacMillan, Holly Richards, Patty Chisholm.
In the semis, top-seeded UPEI dumped New Brunswick 81-69 as Eireann Rigby scored 26 on 10-21 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc, 6 steals and five boards. Jennifer Johnston added 20 on 7-11 from the floor, including a trio from beyond the arc, and 6 assists. Marie-Claude Couture added 11 points and 7 assists. UPEI’s defence forced 32 turnovers. The Panthers led 47-36 at the half. Bonny Munn paced the Varsity Reds with 20. Shelley Ryan added 16 and Charlene Woolaver 15. New Brunswick hit .500 of their shots and out-rebounded UPEI 28-21. The Panthers had 26 steals.
In the other semi, Memorial edged sixth-seeded Dalhousie 62-59. The Tigers roared to a 33-29 lead at the half as rookie Janet Wells scored 14 points in the frame. Dalhousie led by six with six minutes to play but folded down the stretch. Ann Murrin hit a bucket with just under two minutes to play and then fourth-year vet Corinna MacDonald hit a pair of free throws with 19 seconds on the clock to ice it after being fouled as teammate Karen Cameron heaved a ball over her head while falling out of bounds, directly into MacDonald’s hands. “Pressure, pressure, I was shaking up there,” MacDonald told the St. John’s Telegram. “I knew we needed those points so I concentrated and got em in. I blocked out everything. I never heard a sound, only the ball going through the net.” Ann Murrin dominated Dalhousie’s front line as she powered for 23 points, six boards and three blocks. Jenifer Devereaux added 10 on 4-10 from the floor, Melissa Skanes 9, Karen Cameron 9 and MacDonald 8. Jillian MacDonald led Dalhousie with 13. Memorial coach Doug Partridge’s said Cameron’s play was critical “I don’t think we would have been even close in the game if it wasn’t for the play of Karen Cameron. She was absolutely unbelievable. She had to log about 38 minutes of time, she made some buckets and played great defence.” Dalhousie coach Carolyn Savoy noted that “they were up one with 42 seconds left and we had the ball out of bounces. We set up a play with 19 seconds on the shot clock but we didn’t get the basket, so we had to foul to stop the clock. Their player (Corinna MacDonald) hit both free throws and we needed a three-pointer to tie, but it was so loud, our players couldn’t hear the play call and we didn’t have any timeouts left. It all came down to the wire and we just couldn’t get over the hump. The game was left in the hands of the players and that’s all you can ask for. But I’m very pleased with this team’s performance. In hindsight, you can always look back and see a play that could have been made differently that might have altered the outcome.”
In the final, UPEI edged Memorial 75-70. Memorial raced to an early 15-5 lead but when Jenifer Devereaux suffered an ankle turn the Panthers ripped off nine unanswered points to tie the game at 19. Devereaux returned to the floor with a taped ankle and hit a critical bucket to tie the game at 42 at the half. But the Panthers quickly took command in the second half with an 8-0 run. Memorial cut the lead to three in the final minute on an Ann Murrin free throws but the Panthers held on for the win, delighting their home town crowd when Jennifer Johnston drilled a pair of free throws to ice the win with four seconds on the clock. Eireann Rigby paced UPEI with 23 points, 4 steals and 2 boards. Jennifer Johnston added 16, Kate Ellis 9 and Marie-Claude Couture 9. Jenifer Devereaux led Memorial with 23 on 11-17 from the floor. Corinna Macdonald added 10. Erica Coultas scored 13 on 5-5 from the floor and a trio from beyond the arc. Melissa Skanes added 6 and Karen Cameron 5. UPEI hit .500 from the field and committed only 9 turnovers. Memorial out-rebounded the Panthers 28-25. The title was the Panthers fifth in AUAA history. They duplicated their 1993 title run, winning the regular season to gain homecourt advantage. “They knew a little bit about the history, but they were very keen to establish a bit of their own,” said UPEI head coach Tracy Ellsworth. “Our job is not done yet,” said an elated Panther co-captain Eireann Rigby, who was playing in her final home game of her intercollegiate career. “We’re not looking to go into the CIAUs just to be there, we’re going to do some damage.” There were eight lead changes and two ties early in the second half left the Panthers up 56-55 with nine minutes to play. With MUN’s Melissa Skanes driving for a go-ahead basket, Panther freshman Martine Geoffrion took a charge in the lane and the Panthers responded with an 11-4 run for a 67-59 advantage with 7:11 to go. It was a lead they would never relinquish. That play, said Rigby, was a turning point. “We’re a team that rides with the momentum. A play like that certainly changed things.” Ellsworth said it was just another example of everyone doing their part for the team. “Everyone is prepared to do what it takes and a charge is a tough thing to do defensively.” A Carolyn Ellis outside jumper with 3:23 remaining gave the Panthers a 69-61 lead, but MUN refused to buckle, closing to within three at 71-68 on an Ann Murrin three-point play with 50 seconds left. Couture, who had a game-high nine rebounds, then gave UPEI the bulge it needed, driving the lane for an uncontested layup with 28 seconds remaining. Corrina McDonald got MUN to within three in the final 18 seconds but Johnston converted two free throws with three seconds to go to seal the win. The Panthers stumbled from the opening tip, trailing by as much as 10 four minutes in but rallied to take a 40-34 lead with 2:47 to play in the half before settling for a 42-42 intermission tie. UPEI may have come out too pumped. “I don’t know what the reason was, but that’s as good a reason I’ve heard so far,” said Johnston. “But I knew right from the start we were going to get (the lead) back.” Couture, who had five key defensive boards in the second period, said the difference was the Panthers’ ability to turn the defence up a notch in the final 20 minutes. “It was just a case of playing defence a little bit harder and a little bit wiser than the other team,” said the Lac Beauport, Que., native. “The first half was 42-42 and we don’t allow that many points, usually. It would come down to the team who would play the better defence.” The Panthers shot 56 per cent from the field in the second half after the Sea-Hawks had converted on blistering 61 per cent of their first period chances. UPEI was 1-7 from the arc, while Memorial was 4-7. “I can’t describe to you what I feel right now,” said an emotional Rigby, a fifth-year senior from Fredericton who arrived on campus six months after UPEI’s last conference crown. No other victory, no other game ever in my entire career has ever felt like this. I just can’t describe it. This is my most favorite team I’ve ever played on. I love these girls; the feeling is incredible. I’m numb. My wildest dreams have come true. I’ve wanted this since day one.” Johnson said the squad was determined to make a deep run in the tourney after a loss in the quarterfinals a year earlier. “It affected me. I wasn’t going through that again and I’m sure the other girls felt the same way. And our new girls, from what we said, they kind of had an idea, too.” Rookie Kate Ellis, a 5-11 post who scored 4 points, had 6 steals and 5 boards, said “it’s good to be able to come into a new program, keep on winning and not have to experience the feeling of ever losing. I can continue this forever and ever.” Sophomore Krista Connolly noted that “I’ve never felt this great in my life. This is one week of practice I won’t mind.”
After the season, 26-year-old Fabian McKenzie was hired to become the first full-time head coach of the Cape Breton Capers, replacing long-time head coach Ron Carew, who decided not to apply for the full-time job for financial reasons. “The best side of this is that we searched across the country and found the most qualified candidate was right in our own backyard,” athletic director Dave MacLean told Canadian Press. McKenzie had spent the previous two years as an assistant to the men’s program. Prior to that he was an assistant with the women’s program at New Brunswick and the men’s program at St. Thomas. “I think my involvement with different programs over the years has prepared me well for this position,” said McKenzie, who last summer coached the Nova Scotia midget boys’ basketball team. “There might have been people that looked more qualified on paper, but because of my involvement here the last couple of years they know what I can do. I think that helped me out a great deal.” McKenzie graduated from the University of New Brunswick in 1997 with a degree in kinesiology.
The co-bronze medalist New Brunswick Varsity Reds: Bonny Munn; Shelley Ryan; Charlene Woolaver; Jenny Powell; Kimberley Newman; Heather Grasman; Michelle Green; Gillian Leblanc; Renee Poirier; Lindsay Estabrooks; coach Joyce Douthwright-Slipp
The co-bronze medalist Dalhousie Tigers: Jillian MacDonald; Janet Wells; Angelia Crealock; Sara Henneberry; Alana Coffin; Logan Dunning; Carrie-Lynn Fair; Janice King; Angela Thistle; Martine Huot; Angela Daley; Jessica Mace; coach Carolyn Savoy
The runner-up Memorial Sea-Hawks: Jenifer Devereaux; Corinna Macdonald; Erica Coultas; Melissa Skanes; Karen Cameron; Ann Murrin; Lisa McInnis; Amy O’Reilly; Kendra Wheatley; Tara Bulgin; Tammy Stephen; Gwyn Pryse-Phillips; Jillian Abbott; coach Doug Partridge; assistant Tami Pennell
The champion Prince Edward Island Panthers: Marie-Claude Couture; Jennifer Johnston; Eireann Rigby; Krista Connolly; Trisha Atkinson; Jocelyn Cheverie; Kate Ellis; Carolyn Ellis; Kate Myron; Martine Geoffrion; Amy Doornekamp; Kerri-Ann Billings; Scottina Whitty; coach Tracy MacEachern-Ellsworth